Kyoto Fall ==> 2007 Part Two

So many pictures so many places so these will be just a highlight of the trip. The best of the best!!!!!!

Stone Garden which is kept in order on a daily basis from the time this temple was established hundreds of years ago.
Ni-Jo Jo Castle, very very big and spread out, unfortuneately there was a lot of stuff on the inside that cameras were not allowed so this and the the outside grounds area was as much as I can show......darn!!!!!



Click on the picture above to see the intricate detail I tried to capture on camera. Amazing!!! All wood by the way.

This is the bullet train we had taken to and from the city of Kyoto. Very slick fast and smooth, it was unbelievable. Overall the trip was great and I have never seen such diversity that Japan had especially all in one place!!!!

What trip!!!!!

jjc

Kyoto Fall ==> 2007

The last big trip of 2007 was Kyoto. A very beautiful and historic city full of Japan's culture. The trip covered three days however here is a snapshot of the trip with video's. Takeuchi-San and Furiki-San lead the way on this expedition over five hours away from our home to this end of the country to explore.

Kyoto Train Station. Very big and very Hi-Tech looking. In a way it was kind of strange see this style of a building when the entire city focuses on preserving an "Old Style Japan" look.

Raccon dogs and Me!!!!!

A very deep and tall bamboo forest in the Kyoto area. Very beautiful and never know that bamboo can be so tall and big!!!!







The weather was superb and surprisingly warm for this season. The famous Kyoto Tower Hotel pictured above, usually a classic icon of the Kyoto Area and have been seen on many sites and postcards about Japan.












to be cont.......

jjc

Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008 Part Two

After finally making it inside there was a lot of eye popping characters and bright colors for every booth presented at this convention. It was quite a surprise how crowded everything was. In the beginning it wasn't so bad to move around , so I had taken the opportunity to take as many photos as I could.

Who remember's this classic, in the picture above???????

No Anime convention could be complete without "PlayBoy Bunnies" hosting the Anime Casino within the convention. They were actually using real money to gamble on the slots, Pachinko and a host of other table games!!! I wanted to join in on the fun but the line was very long and there was still so much more to see.

The Tweety bird of the future. You guys saw it here first!!!! This collectible retails for more than 20,000Yen ($200US).


Anime heroines, these types of characters (female mainly) are the most popular and sexually provacative. Unbeknownst to a lot of people there is even underground X-Rated Anime with the same types of characters doing things that I cant mention on here!!!!

Transformers making a come back especially with a modernized Transformer movie recently released in Japan robotic characters will be back in style!!!!

Well thats all folks!!!! There was so much more to see, but a few hours into the convention, taking pictures was pretty difficult. People kept coming in through the doors and had gotten soooooo crazy and crowded, people began pushing to get through, so by that time, it was my que to leave the building!!!!!!

The feeling and energy from this convention was very exciting and bright, the essence of it was quite different from other animation conventions, this one felt charged up and electrifying!!!!

Tokyo International Anime Fair Part One

I read in the newspaper that the International Anime Fair was coming for the weekend. So I decided what the heck! It would be nice to experience something new and different. I have been to comic and animation festivals before but this trip was by far completely unique.

Two hours later by train from my home I arrived in Tokyo at the convention center called "Tokyo Big Sight." From the looks of the building it was a big sight indeed. The architecture of the building was strange and beautiful. It looks like something you would only see in Sci-Fi films. The actual convention had taken place in a building on the ground floor, but for part of the building that hovered above by upside down pyramids was something great to stare at while I was waiting to get in.
My mouth just dropped when I saw the line. I actually made it in town roughly an hour early but I never thought I would see a line like this just to get in. It was crazy, you can feel the energy in the crowd craving to get it in. From what I heard people arrived from 6 in the morning, although the convention doesnt begin until 10am!!!


It had taken over an hour waiting just to get to the front door. Waiting in line wasn't so bad though since there was a convenient store literally 10 steps away and a ticket lady was floating around selling tickets, so basically you can shop while you wait, without getting out of line..........very nice.......




Finally made it in!!!!! At first the crowd inside wasn't so bad so I had a chance to really check things out, up close and personal.

jjc

Adatara Kogen Snow Resort

Hey guys just wanted to post out to you and say that winter is FINALLY coming to an end. It has been quite bitter cold out this way and living in it was no joke!!! Especially mind you that I have to commute by bike everyday to work rain or shine, hot or cold!!!!! All of these shots were taken on the cell phone. Quality isn't too shabby........



Some of the co-workers and I decided to jump to a ski resort for some winter fun. I never really snowboarded before so this was my chance to get started. We took a one day trip out to Adatara Ski resort. This year was one of the coldest seasons in Japan and you can tell by the pictures that the snow was soft and fresh.

Morikawa-San my fellow co-worker training up on the same tool as I for work. Shidara-San above.
If you really look most of the folks here are my same hanging partners that I went on a trip with to some other destinations last year. You can find those posts on your left.
It was a very sunny and clear day. It was actually warmer than I thought. I layered up, after doing some research online on what to wear and what not to wear. Later in the day I had to give up a couple under shirts because I was sweating.


Miyaki-San and Morikawa San are above they were on ski's.
Takeuchi-San, has been snowboarding for quite a while so he was showing me some basics on how to snowboard.

The lift was real cool, it was a little tricky trying to get off since the lift never stops. Getting on was a piece of cake but when it was time to exit you have to slide off the chair on a small slope away from the chairs. With the snowboard, both feet are strapped on the board so to move around or even walk (hobble) you remove one foot from the board so landing back on your feet from the lift was a bit awkaward. I routinely fell (safely) but one thing I didnt do was cause the lift to stop moving like some other newbies out there........whew!!!
I was getting better and better as the day progress. I will say all logic that you learned using a skateboard is almost tossed out the window when using the snowboard. It was great fun, although I have quite a few bumps and bruises along the way. Speed down the hills was amazingly fast and almost scary. If you look at the picture above the hill just curves downward quickly.

After a few trials on the base trails we had taken the second lift further up the mountain. You see the background in the picture above. Very beautiful and you can see for miles. It was actually better for us all to go further up the mountain, it wasn't nearly as crowded as the lower hills.


A couple more last minute lessons breaking bad habits before they start.
There I am in action how about that!!!!! Its harder than it looks I will attest to that.
Okay I was ready for a break, I landed a little hard on my knees this time. OUCH!!!!! What sucks is that my feet are strapped in so breaking my fall was painful either on my butt or on my knees. I will say that the snow tastes good, I had a mouthfull of that too.....
Yes I know my lips are chapped on this picture but dammit I still look sexy.

I had a great time and it was so much fun, especially with the guys being patient with me for the first half of the day. By the end I was on my own and actually doing pretty good. It still is a bit tricky for me to even out my turns but it only gets better the second, third time around. We stayed until about 5 by then the sun was falling and it was time to beat the rush home and jump into a nice hot tub and soak!!!!!

jjc

Politics Galactic

Hey folks, I have been torn away and mesmerized by all the news feeds lately with the ongoing primaries for the Democratic nomination. I just cant believe the year we are having in America. It is funny that I only imagined this type of race would happen for a woman or a black man to run for the presidency. It is crazy and extremely exciting to see how all this unfold. I didnt want to get too political here on my blog but it is just something I wanted to make a statement about.....

I mean really, just to think that any of these two candidates could REALLY be the President of the United States of America is something that I never thought I would live to see. To be honest I am still kind of stuck in the middle on who I would compeletly favor. I relish the fact that a black man as President would be too good to be true and at times I still have my doubts that would even happen!!! But in reality who would be the better President? Clinton, we know her and her husband's style, they are not perfect, but in my opinion they had one of the better runs in this country (atleast in my lifetime) than anyone else. She is stong and I can really see that what she says is what she will do. But on the other hand Obama represents the change of status quo, which would inlcude Cinton and her strategies for policy plus bringing "change" to "business as usual" at the Hill........ so much to think about...... and gee whats up with the superdelegates...... goodness if there isn't any thing more to consider...... not sure if you guys know but the youngest superdelegate is 21!!!!!! A true fact that this young man has a significant vote in deciding the nominee......... although I am miles away when history is in the making on American soil, I can only say what a year 2008 is...... what a year!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!! It is still bitter cold in mid month of February but things are all good. Just wanted to wish everyone a blessed and special day especially for you lovers out there!!! I just recieved a box from a couple friends of mine namely Mati and Cleve just wanted to say that the gift really made this day - Valentine's more enjoyable. OOOHHHH LLLOOORRRDDD!!!! The video is hot and I really want to thank you for that, you dont know how much I need more movies like that, they dont make them like that around these parts...... and that is the truth........also thanks to those who dropped me a line to say Happy V day same back at you (you know who u r)!!!!!



But enough ranting for now. Things are good and well hope the same for all of you. Feel free to leave comments below, Hope your V-Day is full of love and intermingling!!! LOL



jjc